got my roots and you've got ties
by theyouthless
Summary: AU Season 2. After a rough ending at Regionals, New Directions is ready to take Nationals now that there aren't any distractions in the form of spies and thwarting coaches. Except one of the new members has the team divided more than ever.
1. sadie::cue pandemonium

Sadie can't help but feel that the way Mr. Shuester has them standing up in front of the choir room is a bit reminiscent of standing in front of a firing squad. A quick glance at the faces of the _original _glee clubbers has her thinking that maybe this isn't such a dramatic comparison. There isn't a friendly face among the group and the putout glares they're all wearing manage to make even _her _feel uncomfortable.

Sadie glances at the boy to her left and feels sorry for him. If _she's_ feeling the tiniest bit insecure then she suspects that he's about to vomit all over the floor _(and hopefully not on her shoes)._ He'd been a wreck just forty minutes earlier, when it was just the two of them and Mr. Shuester going over a few scales and snippets of songs to get warmed up and comfortable.

His name's Jamie Benson and that's really all she knows of him, asides that he's a freshman like her and has a good voice underneath all the shyness—it's nothing spectacular, but there is potential for greatness in it somewhere. Her first impression of him is that he's _sweet, _like the tiny, trembling puppy with the too big eyes in the pet store.

She laces her fingers through his and gives a reassuring squeeze. He is remarkably pale, not the natural pale like her own skin but a sickly pale that, once more, has her worrying for her boots.

"—it'll be a little harder choreographing routines around odd numbers but it's not impossible," Mr. Shuester claps his hands together and slides over to Jamie with a proud smile on his face. His eyes are shining he looks like he may burst with excitement. "Now, I'd like to introduce you to the two _new additions_ to New Directions!"

There's a unified groan from everyone in the room and Sadie isn't entirely sure if it's over Mr. Shuester's pun or not.

"Mr. Shuester!"

Sadie's eyes fall onto a girl that could only be Rachel Berry. Sadie's heard plenty about Rachel, knows more about her than she cares to admit considering before this point she'd never been in the same room as the girl. Rachel is everything she was said to be, from the knee socks to the patterned sweaters—right down to that _obvious _something special that maybe isn't so obvious to the people in this club.

Sadie wonders briefly if Rachel already knows and if that's why she and the rest of the club look so hostile. In any case, if they didn't already know they would soon enough. She couldn't go all year hiding her last name from them _(the name 'Sadie' just didn't have the same ring to it as 'Madonna' or 'Cher')._

"I think I speak for all of my fellow glee clubbers when I say that we do not appreciate you holding auditions _without _us. What if _their _voices don't fit with the sound we've developed over the last year?" Rachel said quickly, standing from her seat. "I already pull more than my own weight here. _If _I had been present during auditions than _I _could have helped select suitable members—_members_ that make up for the current shortcomings of the group."

All glares were now pointed at Rachel. Sadie looks at Jamie, who looks as though he were determinedly trying to disappear into thin air, and squeezes his hand again.

"I understand your concerns, Rachel, but you all need to realize that this club is going to grow—think of it as…our glee family growing," Mr. Shuester reasons. Rachel frowns and falls back into her seat next to an exceptionally tall boy. _Finn_, Sadie guesses. Mr. Shuester claps his hand onto Jamie's shoulder and sighs. "Now, as I was saying, I'd like to introduce you all to our two new members: Jamie Benson and—"

He pauses and throws Sadie a wary glance that clearly says _brace yourself_. Sadie nods and steals her shoulders.

"—Sadie St. James."

Cue pandemonium.

* * *

_A/N: I started this long before season two aired and wasn't planning on ever publishing it, but honestly I've found season two to be disappointing for the most part (though there have been several gem moments) so I decided to start this up again and publish it. Reviews are appreciated._


	2. rachel::a star

"Mr. Shue you can't be serious?"

Finn's leading the uprising, towering in the center of it all with his arms flailing and his face impressively red. Everyone's yelling over each other, screaming about traitors and spies. Mr. Shuester is hopelessly trying to calm everyone down while simultaneously using himself as a barricade between Sadie and everyone else. Jamie abandoned the girl's side the moment everyone rounded on her, ducking off to watch from the sidelines with wide eyes. Rachel can only do the same from her chair. She can't bring herself to move or speak, though she knows that if anyone in the room has the right to be irrational outraged at the moment it's her.

"Jesse cost us Regionals last year!" Finn shouts. Rachel winces at his name. She's tried her best to forget about everything that happened last year and she'd been impressively successful until now.

"No, that can be blamed on your poorly rehearsed Journey Medley," Sadie blurts out, earning herself more incoherent screaming and several threats. She sighs and crosses her arms over her chest.

_She has us there, _Rachel thinks. It's the first full thought she's had since the club exploded and it makes her feel guilty. She shouldn't be siding with this girl…even if she is right. As fun as the weekly assignments can be it leaves them ill-prepared when it comes to the actual competitions. Sure, they could win Sectionals twenty-times over with numbers they learned twenty minutes before show time but coming in third place last year at Regionals proved how amateur they really were.

"She's a spy, Mr. Shue. It's probably in her DNA," Kurt says.

"She's going to tell them everything!" Finn booms, once again. Sadie gives him a glare that clearly conveys that he is quickly becoming one of her least favorite people.

"I am not going to tell anyone anything, I assure you. _I _have no personal ties to Vocal Adrenaline or Carmel, unlike my cousin, and I am _not _a spy. I went to Lima South and, up until you all started attacking me _for something I didn't do,_ I was actually _excited _about joining show choir!" Sadie snaps at all of them, effectively quieting the group. She tilts her chin up proudly. "And frankly, you would be lucky to have me because while _spy_ isn't genetic…_talent _is. Observe."

She waltzes over to the piano and pulls out sheet music from her oversized leather bag and passes it around to the band. Pushing a dark strand of hair behind her ear, she turns back to the group and smiles as pleasantly as she can and insists that they all sit. She nods to Brad once they're all sitting and looks down at her feet as she begins to sing. She's a performer, it's clear. Rachel sits up a little in her seat as the girl begins to sing.

"_Someone give me a chance and just watch me break through. I deserve to be seen. This dream feels way overdue."_

Sadie looks up and her face is expressing a dozen things all at once. She looks innocent, vulnerable, but fiercely determined and a dozen more things all at once. Every quirk of an eyebrow or twitch of her lips is carefully premeditated. She's good.

_"—I have passion and guts, I want this and it shows. I have fought, I have cried. I've been broke, I've been bruised—"_

Rachel feels something clinch inside of her at the acknowledgement. She's felt something similar before, it's almost the same feeling she gets when she catches Finn looking at Santana or Brittany. This is not about long legs or breasts or tiny Cheerio skirts, though. Those are all superficial things, her physical insecurities. They can be washed away easily with a simple song to remind her that while Santana and Brittany may be tall and beautiful, she has more talent in her pinky finger than either of them can ever hope for. This feeling can't be brushed off as simply because what Rachel's intimidated by is not this girls looks but this girl's talent.

"—_Let me sing for you now, more than just 16 bars. If you give me a chance, you'll discover a star."_

Sadie is good. Rachel isn't sure why she anticipated anything less, why she's shocked by the girl's voice. Her last name alone is reason enough to expect greatness. Maybe she just wasn't anticipating so power and control from a girl so young; she's only a freshman after all. Whatever expectations Rachel had, low or high, have been blown away. Sadie's talent is undeniable.

"_All the strength and the will, all the vigor and fight, when I stand on that stage watch my spirit take flight._ _There's a dream I anticipated_

_Just you wait—"_

Rachel looks around at everyone. The club has never looked so conflicted. Finn's usual wide eyed and dazed expression is back, his rage from only moments ago forgotten. Quinn and Mercedes aren't even trying to hide how impressed they are, though the same can't be said for Kurt who is at least trying to keep his poker face in play. Everyone else looks frustrated, like they've been proven wrong and don't want to admit it.

"_This is all that I know. It's what keeps me alive. I know everything I need to know,_

_I know every song. Just give me a stage and strike the lights, I will prove I belong."_

Rachel doesn't know how to feel. This girl is quite possibly her only competition in McKinley, possibly the only person who can keep up with Rachel herself. This should make her excited, should make her feel relieved. With Sadie in New Directions, Rachel wouldn't have to carry the whole weight of the club on her shoulders. She should be happy about this. Except, she isn't…

"_Cause I've worked way too hard to be brushed off just yet. Time to prove to the world_

_I'm someone not to forget. I can't let all my dreams go nowhere. I won't stop—"_

She doesn't like this and she doesn't know why. Maybe it's because Sadie is Sadie _St. James_, maybe that's why she doesn't like the girl. Or maybe it's because Sadie is talented, just as talented as her. Sadie could keep up with her easily, could steal the spotlight from her too. Maybe that's why she feels so threatened. Rachel's always been the star of New Directions but she's also never had any competition.

"_All I need from you now is to wake up and see. I'm a star."_

Maybe it's a combination of all those things. Maybe it's because Sadie _St. James _is competition.

"_A star."_

_

* * *

A/N: The song Sadie is singing is "I'm a Star" by Scott Alan (performed by Eden Espinosa). I felt it was appropriate._


End file.
